The crowd at the music stage began swelling very early on, as local favorites Hippo Campus played first, with a spirited 40 min. set that included new single, ‘South’ (EP out Oct 2 on Grand Jury Records)
.…

Local favorites Hippo Campus will be playing a double night at the Palace this November 23-24. The band just released their sophomore album Bambi.

We’ve seen the band several times, including one from March 2017, and we can safely describe them as simply amazing: “As soon as the band took the stage, a hundred cellphones went up in the air to record every moment of the band.”

Other local favorites Now, Now will open. We last saw them at Basilica Block Party 2018 and said, “The indie-rock band has very positively grown since their earlier days (with …”Every Children” in their name) and the somewhat dour but bright-pink haired Dalager was seen with a big smile of her face in the late afternoon sun, as she and bandmates walked in unison with guitars.”

The Saturday show is sold out, but there’s still a few tickets left for Friday night.

Look, you know we love our WWF (later changed to WWE, no thanks to the World Wildlife Fund). We grew up watching Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, and, of course, Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Jake the Snake will be at the Cabooze on Friday, telling stories about his wrestling days and holding a Q&A.

The poster also promised “a night of comedy”.

Details:

Jake "The Snake" Roberts - Dirty Details Tour at The Cabooze

$20 Adv • $25 Day of
$50 General Admission + Meet & Greet

WWE's Jake "The Snake" Roberts brings his Dirty Details Tour - Tales from the Pit to The Cabooze!

This uncensored night of comedy and stories from the road will forever change how you look at the glory days of WWE.

Novo Amor (aka Ali Lacey) is touring in support of the debut album Birthplace (AllPoints Records).
His entire US tour is sold out.

Also, if you’re planning on picking up the vinyl version, you might be interested to know that the album was made from recycled vinyl pellets off cut from other records (meaning that each record is its very own unique color and style).

We caught 90’s alternative band Belly on their 2016 reunion tour in Sep 2016 and said, “But, with the promise of new music forthcoming, look for Belly to return again soon, to showcase both any new songs as well as old favorites… so we can again party like it’s 1992.”

As mentioned, the band is back with a new album, Dove, their first in 23 years. Expect this upcoming tour to feature some new songs, mixed in with old, fan-favorites.

There are no opening band listed, but perhaps, as with their last appearance, they will be playing a double set.

Anyroad, before we get to Death Cab for Cutie, I have to explain that I've seen the band before in 2001 at the 7th Street Entry for $5. People who live in Minnesota know that the 7th Street is a tiny venue.
…

New York’s Charly Bliss will be headlining the 7th Street Entry in support of their album, Guppy (Barsuk Records).
We caught the band with Veruca Salt in 2015 and wrote, “New York's Charly Bliss
....

ST. LUCIA
+ Now Now
Minneapolis Music Hall
Fri 10/05/2018 (8pm/$27.50)
musichallmpls.com

With only one show listed for Minneapolis Music Hall, we fear that the venue may be closed permanently after this St. Lucia show on Friday, October 5th. Minneapolis Music Hall is the venue risen from the ashes of Mill City Nights (formerly The Brick).

St. Lucia’s third album Hyperion today will be out Sept 21.

Opening will be local favorites Now Now (formerly Now, Now Every Children).
We’ve seen the band (now a duo) numerous times, with the recent one being at Basilica 2018, noting, “Now, Now has become more of a national name of late, but had its start fifteen years ago in Blaine, MN as classmates Cacie Dalager and Bradley Hale met over similar musical tastes in high school. They released their third studio album, Saved (Trans Records) in May, and opened with ‘SGL’ as well as played newest singles ‘MJ’ and ‘AZ’ (a penchant for initials?), along with older favorites.”

We caught The Score in April 2018 and said, “Actually a duo (Eddie Anthony and Edan Dover, but filled out with a live guitarist and drummer), the band plays a blend of percussion-propelled, radio-ready anthemic songs, similar in scope to Imagine Dragons (their ‘Revolution’ sounds like a sequel to ID’s ‘Radioactive’), with 2016’s ‘Unstoppable’ making the biggest impact so far, featured in the Power Rangers movie, on Fox and The World Series of Poker, and a recent Jeep commercial. ”

The Score will headline the 7th Street Entry on Saturday, October 6. Show up early to check out alt rock band, The Orphan The Poet and Birthday.

Breakout singer, songwriter and performer Jade Bird is playing at the Fine Line Music Café on Saturday, October 6th.
We caught Jade Bird in Nov 2017 and wrote, “The night began with a short opening solo performance from London alt-country singer-songwriter Jade Bird in support of her first EP, Something American (Glassnote Records), released in July. Bird has a delightful and somewhat cheeky demeanor, with a vocal twang similar in parts to Jake Bugg (enough so that they should collaborate and call themselves A Bird and a Bugg) and started with the strumming ‘Run and Hide’ and bluesy ‘I’ll Be There’.”

We like the annual Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis, so we always make sure they get the spotlight whenever we do these previews. They always bring in some really good bands
....

God again smiled down and awarded everyone one of the best weather weekends of the summer--

On their annual pilgrimage to The Basilica of Saint Mary in downtown Minneapolis, thousands of fans descended on the church grounds for an early July musical tradition- the two-day Basilica Block Party.

The festival began in 1995 as a fundraiser to help pay for the structural restoration of The Basilica and today, proceeds from the event benefit The Basilica Landmark, which preserves, restores, and advances it for all generations. In addition, a portion of all proceeds go to The Basilica’s St. Vincent de Paul outreach program, which provides services to those in need.

Ten acts were spread across three stages for each night- the Main Stage (sponsored by Great Clips) located in a back lot behind the building along the highway, a Church Stage (sponsored by Preferred One) out front, and a smaller local stage (sponsored by Star Tribune) .

Star Tribune Local Stage

Lena Elizabeth (Bredeson) was the weekend’s first act on the local stage, a folk-pop singer-songwriter who uses a baritone ukulele to craft songs like on her debut EP, The Line, and newest single ‘Loaded Gun’. Sounding like a cross between Brandi Carlile and Lissie, she can musically surprise with an unexpected but delightful turn.

Kid Dakota is a name fairly well known to area audiences, as it is the musical moniker of Darren Jackson, supporting new album Denervation (Graveface Records) and performing with a drummer accompanying him. The indie-rocker has a loyal local following, even prompting a PledgeMusic reissue of his initial 2000 EP So Pretty.

Lady Lark is a local pop/R&B /Funk artist (aka Taylor Harris) that recalls shades of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu that was part of last year’s City Pages Picked to Click Best New Artists and turned the small staging area into a private celebratory dance party.

Preferred One Church Stage

Now, Now has become more of a national name of late, but had its start fifteen years ago in Blaine, MN as classmates Cacie Dalager and Bradley Hale met over similar musical tastes in high school. They released their third studio album, Saved (Trans Records) in May, and opened with ‘SGL’ as well as played newest singles ‘MJ’ and ‘AZ’ (a penchant for initials?), along with older favorites.

The indie-rock band has very positively grown since their earlier days (with …”Every Children” in their name) and the somewhat dour but bright-pink haired Dalager was seen with a big smile of her face in the late afternoon sun, as she and bandmates walked in unison with guitars.

The Revolution is always a joy to see, playing Prince-penned favorites from 1983-85 that the band originally played on, getting the crowd into it from the very first notes of their opening track, ‘America’.

The band’s musical chops continue to be in top form (a discipline drilled into them by the Purple One) and Stokely from Mint Condition again joined the group about half way in, to continue the party, ending the hour-long celebration with ‘Purple Rain’ and “I Would Die 4 U/Baby I’m a Star’.

Fitz and the Tantrums have become almost an annual tradition like the event itself, appearing here numerous times over the last few years and with good reason; as they remain one of the best live bands around, headed by vocalist Michael Fitzpatrick, co-vocalist Noelle Scaggs, and multi-instrumentalist James King.

The Los Angeles indie-pop band (that still refuses to use a guitar) remains riding high from 2016’s self-titled (Elektra Records) full-length- their most successful to date- getting the crowd involved, transforming the church’s front lawn into a disco of sorts, and even working in an Eurythmics cover, into their eighty-five minute set.

Great Clips Main Stage

TABAH is a local four-piece eclectic ensemble led by vocalist Cecelia Erholtz that plays somewhat trippy folk alt-rock that stretches in the sound spectrum from an ethereal quietness, to a louder, slightly psych head trip, and who have a full-length debut, Symmetry Somewhere, out now.

Delta Rae are station favorites and a Durham, NC folk rock band consisting of six members composed of three siblings, feature two co-vocalists and are happily about to release their next album. In advance of this, the sextet played several new songs as well as favorites like biggest hit ‘If I Loved You’ and worked in Whitney Houston and Florence + the Machine covers into their originals, impressing early into their set, with a harmonic pitch-perfect version of ‘Seven Bridges Road’.

The group has also booked a fall sixteen-week weekly residency at small Nashville club The Basement and also heads out on tour, (not formally announced yet, but) stopping by the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown, in early December.

John Butler Trio always impresses live with their unique blend of Australian roots rock and musical dexterity playing live. Together with bassist Byron Luiters and drummer Grant Gerathy (and now two additional musicians), Butler charmed with not only how seamlessly he played guitar, lap steel, and banjo, but with the stories he told between songs, that connected them even more with the entranced audience.

The quintet previewed several songs from their upcoming album (the first since 2014’s Flesh + Blood) and re-invented older JBT songs like ‘Betterman’’ and ‘Zebra’ with the additional musical firepower.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit returned to play the Basilica again (having shared the bill with Wilco three years ago) playing the well-deserved headlining set of the evening- a stellar ninety-minutes culled from his half-dozen solo albums, along with a couple songs from his former band, The Drive-By Truckers.

Though busy with her own career and promotion of an upcoming album of her own (To the Sunset, out August 3), wife Amanda Shires took the time to appear as part of the band, with compelling fiddle playing and harmonies of her own, and Isbell was visibly glad to have her on board, often looking lovingly in her direction as they played.

The Americana alt-country singer and band were razor sharp, especially on tracks culled from latest release, last June’s The Nashville Sound (Southeastern Records), starting their set with the rocking ‘Hope the High Road’ and ending the evening with a hushed and mesmerizing duet with Shires on ‘If We Were Vampires’.

(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)

DJs Keri Noble, Greg Thunder

DJ Paul Fletcher

Kid Dakota

Now, Now

Now, Now

Now, Now

Now, Now

Now, Now

The Revolution

The Revolution

The Revolution

The Revolution

The Revolution

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Delta Rae

Delta Rae

Delta Rae

Delta Rae

John Butler Trio

John Butler Trio

John Butler Trio

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at Basilica Block Party, Basilica of St. Mary (06 July 2018)

We like the annual Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis, so we always make sure they get the spotlight whenever we do these previews. They always bring in some really good bands, and with every ticket sold, you know the money goes into maintenance and upkeep of the Basilica St. Mary.

Since there are so many bands on the bill, the Basilica Block Party divides the lineup into three stages, a large, medium, and small stage (the papa, moma, and baby bear stages as we like to call it). If you wanted to see all the bands, logistically, it’ll be pretty tough, and you’ll have to miss some songs, as the three stages goes on at different time. Check your time schedule on their website.

In my review for Wire’s Object 47, I said that they were "still amazing after all these years" and that they basically haven't changed their sound - which is a good thing. It looks like they have a new album. …

Walker Lukens and his band The Side Arms, feat. Zac Catanzaro, Mckenzie Griffin, Grant Himmler, and Kyle Vonderau, was a lot of fun, thanks to Lukens’ high energy performance (particularly on “Jacket On Ya Shoulders”)
…

If you love Wire (that influential band that Elastica ripped off), you need to check out Immersion at 7th Street Entry this Thursday. Immersion is the
Brighton-based duo featuring Wire frontman Colin Newman and Minimal Compact’s Malka Spigel. They are touring for their album Sleepless (swim~ Records).

Madison, WI’s
Proud Parents will be stopping by the Eagles Club on Saturday. The venue’s website does not list a cover charge, but generally these shows are donation-based or really cheap (less than $10). Also on this bill are:
Real Numbers, Teenage Moods and Wetter.

Can you believe that it’s been over 30 years since
The English Beat (featuring Dave Wakeling) released a new studio album ? If you love “Save It For Later”, you’ll find a lot to like in their new record Here We Go Love.
Of course, the British ska band will be playing First Avenue this Saturday.

It’s the annual local favorite radio station The Current’s 13th Birthday Party, and Bully (aka Alicia Bognanno) is headlining the first night with Now, Now, The Social Animals, and Dem Atlas.

For the second night, they booked JD McPherson, Ron Gallo, Lady Lark, and Reina Del Cid.

We caught Bully in January 2016 and noted, “Their set, although short, was packed full of energy. There were times when the music sounded like something you could hear on your local alternative rock radio channel but then there were also songs that sounded like Brody Dale of the Distillers was making a comeback. There were straight up punk songs mixed into a set of good old-fashioned alternative rock.”

Bully’s sophomore album Losing came out last Fall on Sub Pop. She’ll be continuing her tour in February:

Multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter/producer Ben Folds is playing a two-night residency at the Orchestra Hall in Minnesota. He recently released Concert 2015-2016 on New West Records.

We saw Ben Folds Five in 2012 and said, “Ben Folds told this great story about their first gig in Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry. If you live around here, you know that place is tiny, so I had this vision of their grand piano taking up 90% of the stage. It was the first time the band came to Minneapolis and they had no idea how cold it was. It was snowing, negative 60 degree (at least that's what they said!), and they were moving the piano outside. They had "jackets" on but it was so cold, they ran back inside - leaving the piano in the middle of the street! Lessons learned.”

Pokey Lafarge is playing a two-night residency at the Turf Club in St Paul in support of his new album Manic Revelations (Rounder Records). For some odd reason, the venue is listing Friday’s show as “8 a.m.”, which I’m assuming they actually meant 8pm.

Local Minneapolis band Blinds is having an EP release party this Tuesday.

Their description:

'Some Thing for No Thing' is the second EP release from Minneapolis natives blinds. The record was a hands-on homage to the lo-fi nature of the early 90’s grunge scene all while using modern influences from Kings of Leon to Interpol.

Opening up the show was Dem Yuut (Jeremy Hanson, Don House, Danny O'Brien, Jef Sundquist), who drew in a pretty good crowd, especially for relatively new band on the bill.
. .…

Local favorites, Now, Now (formerly Now, Now Every Children) played a sold-out hometown gig, their first in over three years, at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on Thursday night.

Another local favorite Dem Yuut (Jeremy Hanson, Don House, Danny O'Brien, Jef Sundquist) opened the show, now a more established band than when we first saw them at their second show in June 2016.

When not remixing the Staves (‘Tired as F***’), the band is hard at work writing new songs like their new single ‘Dawn/Sea’ (which ended their brief setlist).

KC Dalager

Now, Now were seasoned professional by the time we saw the young band February 2010. They started the band when they were 16 years old, and signed to Afternoon Records in 2007.

After losing various band members (notably Jess Abbott, who now plays under the stagename Tancred), the band remain the same two singer/guitarist KC Dalager (aka Cacie) and drummer Bradley Hale, but for their live shows, they’re joined on stage by a live guitarist and bassist.

Shortly after their show at the Triple Rock Social Club in April 2013, the band kind of went into hiatus.

We actually thought the band broke up, but last month, the band showed up their new single ‘SGL’, which NPR Music hailed as an “instant classic.”

As expected, the band was still working out the kinks of attempting to play the new songs. It’s been a long time, and their many friends, family, and fans, gave the band some slack.

One of the new song, ‘AZ’ is about going back to Arizona, at “the heart of it all”. Another new songs, which was tentatively called ‘Yours’, actually had a different title by KC, as “an inside joke”. They didn’t tell us the joke, but based on the giggling on stage, it must’ve been rather embarrassing.

Of course, the set closer, ‘Thread’, like their 2013 appearance, received the biggest response from the crowd. The song was played on Jimmy Fallon, and became the band’s signature song.

Although gone for a while, the sold out show, full of enthusiastic audience, proved that the band has not been forgotten.

Now, Now will be playing a limited string of U.S. tour dates this summer:

Big Thief is back on a massive tour in support of their sophomore record Capacity (Saddle Creek).
We’ve previously seen the Brooklyn-based group several times and mentioned that their singer, Adrianne Lenker, is quite shy.

Twain, no relationship to Shania Twain, to open. The Brooklyn trio features Mt. Davidson, Peter Pezzimenti & Ken Woodward. They were last in town with Kishi Bashi on October 12, 2016.

It’s been over three years since Now, Now (formerly Now, Now Every Children) play live. We previously caught the band in April 2013 and wrote, “Once settled, their 60 min. set came off as mostly casual and familial - the running joke being about tech/roadie Kevin getting called out every time he rushed on-stage for an instrument change, with all band members - Cacie Dalager (vocals, guitar, keybd/bells), Hale (drums, backing voc.), and Jess Abbott (guitar, vocals, bells) – quipping about re-naming the band ‘Kevin’, calling the new album ‘Kevin’, etc.”